Why should preventive measures and biological control methods be preferred for protection of crops? [3 MARKS]
Each point: 1 Mark
1. Preventive measures and biological control methods should be preferred for protection of crops because excessive use of chemicals leads to environmental problems. These chemicals are also poisonous for plants and animals.
2. Preventive measures include proper soil and seed preparation, timely sowing of seeds, intercropping and mixed cropping, usage of resistant varieties of crops, etc.
3. On the other hand, biological control methods include the usage of bio-pesticides that are less toxic for the environment. An example of bio-pesticides is Bacillus thuringiensis, which is an insect pathogen that kills a wide range of insect larvae. Therefore, both preventive measures and biological control methods are considered eco-friendly methods of crop protection.